Has Politics Become Your Religion?

 

Many online articles these days are accusing Christians of allowing politics to interfere with their Christian faith, or worse yet, to replace their faith with politics. This is not a new problem. More than eighty years ago C.S. Lewis warned about this in Screwtape Letters. An older demon gives advice to a younger demon on how to tempt humans: “Let [your patient] begin by treating … Patriotism or Pacifism as part of his religion. Then let him, under the influence of partisan spirit, come to regard it as the most important part.”

So if Lewis can warn us about this at the beginning of World War II we better pay attention to the problem today.

I have been arguing for a long time that theological liberals who call themselves Christians have been replacing the faith with Left-wing, Marxist ideology and they have been doing it for at least sixty years. But has it become a problem with conservative Christians?  In this video I want to address those who are, like me, political as well as theological conservatives. Have we turned in our Christian faith and exchanged it for a political program? I do not think it is a statistically large problem but sadly, in some cases, it has happened. So how do you recognize it in others or yourself? What are the signs you are replacing your faith with politics?

Ask yourself these five questions:

1.       Do I spend more time trying to persuade people to vote for so and so than to receive Jesus Christ as Savior?

2.       Are liberals people to be won to Christ or enemies to be vanquished?

3.       Do I trust government more than the sovereignty of God?

4.       Do I see myself primarily as a follower of Christ or a political conservative?

5.       If conservative candidates lose the next election do I consider that an unmitigated catastrophe? The best thing about losing would be forcing of Christians to look to the Lord for their salvation and not a political regime.

I should probably add one more question. Have you forgotten that very soon—maybe before the next election—Jesus Christ will come in all His glory and establish His Kingdom on the earth?

I am a very politically engaged person. I care very much about public policy and am concerned with left-wing ideology and its destructive impact on politics and the nation. So I have to be very careful myself of getting too embroiled in political outcomes.

One of the greatest temptations Jesus faced was to politicize his ministry. It’s what his disciples expected. To the end of His time on earth His followers assumed His purpose was political and that a momentous realignment of political forces was at hand. In Acts 1:6—this is after Jesus’ death, after His resurrection, the disciples asked him, Is it now? Is it now that you are going to drive out the Romans and establish a Jewish kingdom(with them in charge, of course.)? Their expectations were completely political.

Jesus told Pilate in no uncertain terms that His Kingdom was not of this world. When we make this world and its political systems our focus it is because we are tired of waiting for God to straighten things out. We are going to fix them ourselves.

Our God is in complete charge of this earth and every political outcome. He allows things to unfold according to the counsel of His will. We can trust Him to get it right and get it right at the right time.

More: What does the future hold for Western Civilization? (Seven reasons to be hopeful.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIxSvawjZmo

When politics becomes your religion:

https://www.christianpost.com/voices/when-politics-becomes-your-religion.html

Three Warning Signs Politics has become your religion: https://ericgeiger.com/2020/11/10/3-warning-signs-politics-is-becoming-your-religion/

The point of view of a couple of thoughtful Mormons:

https://publicsquaremag.org/politics-law/politics/has-politics-become-your-new-religion/

Timothy Dalrymple in CT, warning about politics corrupting religion: https://www.christianitytoday.com/2024/09/against-culture-demonization-timothy-dalrymple/?vgo_ee=4MLkF32yEi9I0BenZcEVDlzrWgaYHc%2BBtAGqSUwVi3db27lNiw2jiLg%3D%3Aw%2F%2BsGjd%2BZcCXluFzOp%2BEHTi2C%2F10HYpo